


Incarnadine

by Vespertilio



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Deviates From Canon, Dimension Travel, Harry Potter is Not the Boy-Who-Lived, M/M, Master of Death Harry Potter, Mirror Universe, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-31
Updated: 2019-02-13
Packaged: 2019-10-20 01:29:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17612864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vespertilio/pseuds/Vespertilio
Summary: In a world where the boy who lived, Neville Longbottom, died in fourth year, Dumbledore and Voldemort believe Harry is the true prophecy child. Wanting to get Harry trained as soon as possible, Dumbledore decides to summon a vanquisher of Voldemort from another dimension. Who does he get but the master of death, a Harry Potter from a world where Voldemort chose him in Neville's place.Updates bi-weekly on Thursday or Friday.





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my ideas and the hours I put into making this useless story a reality. All rights to J.k. Rowling and affiliates. No profit is being made. Thanks for reading!

The sound of muffled shouting rouses Harry Potter from his sleep. Frowning he digs his knuckles into his eyes to chase away the drowsiness, then he sits up and reaches out to find his glasses. His fingers clutch the cold metal frames and he slips them on, blinking owlishly as the world comes into focus.

It is still dark outside the window, and the clock on the wall reads two minutes to three. He sighs heavily. It's too early to be up, but he slips out of bed anyways, wincing at the feeling of the cold tiles under his feet. He shuffles as quietly as possible around his room to find socks and a shirt, then he sneaks down the stairs.

The closer he gets to the kitchen the louder the argument becomes. His uncles are fighting an old battle, one far too familiar. Remus thinks he's too young to be a part of the Order of the Phoenix, Sirius disagrees on the grounds that the war affects everyone no matter their age and Harry is seventeen and old enough to make his own choices. Harry breathes a sigh of relief and sneaks back to his room, not wanting to stick around until they reach a resolution to the argument. Eavesdropping on that once was a time too many in his opinion.

Harry sits on his bed and grabs the photo of his parents from his nightstand. It's from their wedding. His mom is dressed in a beautiful white gown with tiny cornflower blue crystals embroidered on the bodice; the same color as the ribbons entwined in the intricate braided style of her ruby hair, and the cufflinks and tie his father wears with his black bespoke suit. His mom laughs and shoves a piece of cake in his dad's face, and he gives her a shocked look before joining her in laughter. It's his favorite picture, as well as his least favorite. It's what they were before he came into their lives.

Harry's parents were tortured mercilessly by Death Eaters when he was only fifteen months old, the same night Voldemort killed Neville Longbottom's parents. There had been a prophecy about Voldemort's death and the Dark Lord came for Neville, while he sent his most trusted Death Eaters to take care of him. Their parents were just collateral damage. With his parents dead and his surprising and mysterious defeat of Voldemort, Neville became the boy who lived. Harry, however, was given over to the custody of his father's three closest friends after his parents were tortured to the point of permanent brain damage, and his parents lie side by side in St. Mungo's, comatose, as they have been for sixteen years.

Harry loves his godfather and uncles, but a lot of the time he wishes his parents could have taken care of him. He dreams of them waking up so he can meet them for real, but he knows that the healers don't expect either of his parents to ever wake. It would have been kinder to kill them, but Bellatrix Lestrange is a psychopathic sadist with a dark lord complex and they were in his way. Even without the prophecy his parents would have likely been killed in the war, but Harry could have just as easily been the boy who lived as Neville, and that was why his parents were tortured.

There's a knock on his door, and Harry absently calls out for them to come in. He's startled when it isn't Sirius or Remus, but Peter. The round man shuffles awkwardly in his doorway.

"We figured you'd be up." He says softly. "Want breakfast?"

Harry laughs. "It's barely three in the morning."

Peter shakes his head. "It's almost seven." He reveals, amused.

Harry glances at the clock and sure enough it reads a quarter to seven. Had he really sat in his bed staring at the photo of his parents for almost four hours? It hadn't felt that long. It felt like it had only been a few minutes, but Harry would have noticed if someone came in to mess with his clock. He has learned to be pretty alert living with three pranksters, and he would have noticed no matter how zoned out he was.

"Thinking about James and Lily again?" Peter asks.

Harry nods morosely, setting the photo down. Peter is the only one to call them by name, Sirius and Remus both refer to them as his mom and dad. "I feel like I miss them but I never really knew them. I guess I just miss what could have been, and that makes me feel awful, because they were my family. I should miss them, but I can't really miss something never had."

Peter, as emotionally stunted as always, gives him that weird almost guilty look he always does when Harry talks about his parents, and he pats his knee gently. "Come get breakfast Harry." He says, predictably changing the subject, and he leaves the room before it can get any more awkward for either of them.

Harry sighs and gets up, heading to the bathroom with one last backwards glance at his parents' photo. He stares at his reflection, taking in the sight of his baggy eyes and weary face. The war hasn't been easy on anyone and it shows. Everyone he knows looks so tired, exhausted by the long and terrible war, but Harry, like all the children of Hogwarts, has been at the epicenter of the war since the beginning and it has affected them the most.

Harry, Ron, Luna, and Hermione, had been at Neville's side since first year. They discovered the philosopher's stone in first year and tried to save it from being stolen by Professor Quirrell, but in the end only Neville was there to witness the revelation that Quirrell had been possessed by Voldemort the whole year. Only Neville was there to see the dark lord steal the stone and rise up.

Thankfully nothing happened in their second or third year since Voldemort was keeping quiet and gathering his forces; but in their fourth Neville had been illegally entered into a deadly tournament and they had to help him prepare to go against dragons, mermaids, and many more dangers. Once again only Neville was there to when the Triwizard cup took him and the other Hogwarts champion, Cedric Diggory, to a graveyard. It came back accompanied by their two corpses and Harry was convinced Voldemort had something to do with it, though it was never confirmed.

Voldemort became more active after their fourth year, and the war officially began in the eyes of the magical world, but without the chosen one he faced little resistance from the light. Only the Order of the Phoenix and the teachers and students of Hogwarts dared to go against him, and it is why he hasn't already won the war. They remain the last desperate hope for the magical world, Dumbledore's secret army against Voldemort and his forces.

In just under a month Harry will start his seventh year of Hogwarts and then he can join the Order of the Phoenix without having to convince Remus that he is old enough. He's an adult in the eyes of the magical world, he shouldn't have to get permission to join the war, but he also respects Remus enough to respect his wishes. If Remus wants him to finish school he will, but he will also immediately join the war on the front lines the day he graduates and Remus will have to live with it.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Harry splashes water on his face, does his business, and attempts to brush his hair. It is a pointless endeavor. He inherited his father's hair, along with all of his looks aside from his eyes, and the riotous licorice black curls are near impossible to tame. His eyes he inherited from his mother, vibrant emerald green, though he has his father's nearsightedness. Giving up he rubs his face and exits the bathroom to join his family downstairs.

He is surprised to see Dumbledore sitting at the table with his uncles. "Hello sir." He greets, sitting down and pouring himself some tea. "Morning everyone."

A chorus of good mornings greet him as he piles bacon on his plate and starts to eat. Quickly he realizes that everyone is staring at him with grim expressions, and he chews, swallows, and sits back. "What did I do now?" He asks hesitantly.

They exchange dark expressions and Dumbledore breaks the silence. "You aren't in trouble Harry." He smiles, blue eyes twinkling.

"Okay." He pushes his plate away. "Then why are you all looking at me like I'm dying."

Dumbledore seems to hesitate for a moment and Sirius growls. "For fucks sake!" He glares as Remus shouts his name in an admonishing tone. "He deserves to know and it isn't going to help if we treat him like he's made of glass." He whips around and points his spoon at Harry. "Dumbledore thinks Voldemort was wrong about Neville and you're the chosen one Bambi."

Harry's mouth drops open and Dumbledore gives Sirius a disappointed look. "I... what?" He stammers.

"I'm afraid it is a belief that Voldemort shares, and he will come for you soon." Dumbledore says. "We believe that Voldemort chose wrong. You were born on the thirty-first, minutes before August, your parents defied him three times and, not to be callus about the dead, you are certainly more powerful than Mr. Longbottom ever was. You're a better fit."

Harry just stares numbly, glancing back and forth between the headmaster and his uncles, all three of which are looking more and more like they want to steal him away and set Dumbledore on fire as the headmaster speaks.

"You are our only hope." He continues, and Harry realizes that he must have missed something he said while his brain was catching up.

Isn't this what he's been wanting since first year, to be included in the Order of the Phoenix, to be seen as a capable fighter for their war? So why does he feel so cold all of a sudden? Even so, he can't refuse to help if he is their last hope.

"What do you need me to do?" The words leave a silence as heavy as lead in their wake.

"Did Neville ever share the information he learned with you?" Dumbledore asks. Harry shakes his head. "I was afraid of that. I fear that there isn't enough time to teach you everything without help." He turns to Sirius, Remus, and Peter with a calm but grim expression. "We shall have to summon someone who has already killed Voldemort permanently from another dimension to teach him."

The breakfast table descends into chaos.


	2. Not an update

Hey, I know that I am supposed to be updating on Thursday, but I might be late this week. We are woefully understaffed and had a three people quit so I've been working 12 - 16 hour shifts every day since February 1. We just hired a couple people, so I get my first day off on Saturday, provided nothing happens, but I am hard pressed for time while I train the new hires, so I promise I will update, but you may have to wait until the 21-22 or even as late as the 1st. I promise I am going to update asap, but I didn't want you guys to think I'm abandoning my story before I even begin 

Thanks

Vespertilio


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